The First Amendment pertains only to the federal government and the incorporation doctrine is a liberal, and nowadays libertarian, fabrication.
Hence its breathtaking breadth.
When adopted, it was widely felt by Americans that the state governments were the real governments, with the real responsibility for governing and the real and complete authority needed to govern.
Hence they could afford to quite absolutely forbid the federal power to at all meddle in the real and necessary business of governing, which of course includes limiting and policing speech, the press, and religion.
The states at the time did many of them both establish specific brands of Protestant Christianity and in varying degrees suppress other denominations and other religions.
Religious tests for office and for witnesses in court were common.
It was absolutely within the power of the states to suppress the worship of the Devil and witchcraft.
But in any case it is highly unlikely the authors or ratifiers of the First Amendment thought "free exercise of religion" extended to witchcraft or Satanism.
Most might not even have agreed it extended to all, or perhaps even any, non-Christian religions.
How did we get to this point?
Incorporation.
But why agree an admitted atheist has standing to demand the right to give an invocation in accordance with a religion he does not share?
PS.
Don't the liberals and Democrats nowadays teach principled contempt for the actual constitution, anyway?
Except when it suits them to be sticklers, of course, for its real or fraudulently alleged provisions.
Just like the Republicans and the libertarians.
Or for that matter the Christian right.
No comments:
Post a Comment